My server dropped off a bucket, mallet, a ramekin of white vinegar, saltines, Tabasco, and wet wipes and assured me, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you get started.” I refined my technique for removing the small apron flap on the back of the crab, peeling the top shell away to expose the soft interior, scraping out the gills and intestines, twisting off the legs, and getting to the very tender, just sweet crabmeat. I ordered a nameless Pinot Grigio from the wine list, and the meal, which was already interactive, creative, and fun, wouldn’t have been quite the same without it. Notes of lemon and a pulse of acidity mediated the zip from the vinegar and the mild crabmeat. The wine was good, not outstanding, but what it contributed in terms of flavor, counterpoint, and cohesion exceeded what may have been absent or missing.

Before I say more about that last bit, let me tell you just a little about my brother’s wedding. While adult siblings ebb and flow in terms of closeness, my brother and I have a deep-rooted understanding of one another that’s inarticulable and impermeable. So, when he called in advance of his wedding to ask, “Can you help me pick out a good white and a good red wine?” I took the request seriously. I entered into an email exchange with Mike, owner of a Wine & Spirits shop in New Jersey, who kindly buys back unopened bottles.

Ultimately, we landed on Lornano’s Chianti Classico DOCG 2022 and Ruffino’s Orvieto Classico. The former was a great find, evoking fresh wild cherry notes, elegant tannic structure, and bright acidity, consistently scoring well at Wine Enthusiast and other venues. Orvieto is often overlooked and Ruffino’s example is reliably vibrant, comprised primarily of Trebbiano Toscano and Grechetto. Per the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s (WSET) quality designates, I consider the two wines, respectively, “very good” and “good.” As counterparts to roasted chicken with sun dried tomatoes and herbs and seared salmon, they each contributed pleasing accent points—from the Orvieto, minerality and a cornucopia of stone fruit and citrus, while the Chianti imparted cherries, dried rosemary, and earth. Both are the product of regional agricultural traditions, and both heightened anticipation and appreciation for the unexpected, as pairings should. In that celebratory context, parsing the characteristics that distinguish a “good” wine from a “very good” wine from an “outstanding” one would have been counterintuitive.

When wine is assessed for quality, it’s impossible to not at some point focus on where complexity falters. But if we only encounter wines to pinpoint their place within a hierarchy, we risk diminishing everyday moments of sensory pleasure and discovery—at worst, we risk approaching wine cynically. ‘Good’ wines, on average, heighten or charge moments around the table by contributing sensory value, surprise, authenticity, and vitality. They amplify our appreciation for wine as a social ritual and envoy of culture. I suspect they are also the common denominator among steady wine drinkers right now—I’d wager that the majority of food and wine we encounter in daily life is very good or good. While sublime, outstanding wines establish much needed reference points, very good and good wines represent regions and producers quite well and elevate meals casual and formal. To me, they can shake off any implication of falling middle-of-the-road and be embraced for the substantive and real value they convey.

To that point, Craig Walker, the distribution manager for Sparkman Cellars in Woodinville, Washington, shared recently, “I work in the wine business, so friends from home [the southeast] assume I drink the best and most expensive bottles. People ask me for my recommendations, and approach wine with a level of insecurity I find strange. Of course, I’ll share recommendations, but ultimately, I just want people to drink wine, even if it’s inexpensive wine with a plate of nachos—as long as its delicious. I hope people will find those experiences and have fun with them.”

Read on…

Wine writers are on cloud nine this week as Substack has established a Wine & Spirits category—it’s exhilarating to see the self-directed, dedicated work that’s developed and shared on the platform afforded more visibility and support.

Two stories I loved recently are “National treasures: America's old vines and their dynamic and delicious wines,” by Ana Carolina Quintela for Decanter and Sarah Karnasiewicz’s August story for Imbibe, “Chic Pizzas and Crushable Wines Are a Diner’s Dream Date.” Randy Caporoso also offers an interesting meditation on how we define ‘good’ wines here.

Earlier this summer, and also for Decanter, I shared “Three Reasons to Start Drinking Albana, Romagna’s Signature White Grape” and “What’s Next for Washington State’s Wines?” For SevenFifty Daily, I explored ”Why More Wineries Are Betting on High-Volume Wines” and for Wine Enthusiast, “As Developers Close In, This Historic California AVA Is Standing Its Ground.” Here on Substack, don’t miss this roundup of American sparkling wine.

I’m looking forward to sharing new writing as fall approaches and to attending the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta to lead a special seminar on California Zinfandel with Santa Fe-based wine writer, colleague, and friend, Bill Smith.

Federico Vargas owned Venta de Vargas, a 1920s-era Córdoba inn and restaurant, and is credited with creating Spain’s beat-the-heat summer spritz, the Tinto de Verano. (The drink was initially called a Vargas, and often still is.) It’s a cinch to assemble, with just three ingredients; that allows for many variations, from glassware to garnish, so I’ve shared a few you might pursue below.

To assemble a classic Tinto de Verano, pour four ounces of fruit-forward, young Spanish red wine—more on this also follows below—over ice. Add the same amount of a quality lemon-lime soda, then garnish with sliced oranges or lemons. Vargas’ original version included simply “gaseosa,” (soda), which cooled and lightened red wine during warm summers in southern Spain. “Tinta” is Spanish for “ink” or “dye,” and commonly refers to red wine, while “verano” translates to “summer.” Valerie Li Stack writes in Punch, “Around the same time in nearby La Rambla {another Córdoba municipality}, Rafael Alguacil Romero started manufacturing soda and sarsaparilla under the name Alguacil Beverage Company. His Alguacil lemon soda, together with lots of ice, was soon added to the popular Vargas drink to impart a touch of sweetness, making it easier to throw back on a hot afternoon.” It’s commonplace to use La Casera soda, 7UP, Sprite, and so on.

I referred to Campo Viejo’s ‘Campo Spritz’ recipe for my Tinto de Verano, with a base of Campo Viejo’s 2022 Tempranillo. The wine is aged for just four months in American oak after fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Grapes are sourced from Rioja DOCa’s three growing regions.

Before we proceed, a little context about Rioja: There are only two DOCa regions in Spain, Rioja and Priorat. To become a DOCa (Denominación de Origen Calificada), a region must be a certified Denominación de Origen (DO) for ten years; a DO establishes quality standards for grape and wine production. Priorat is southwest of Barcelona in Catalonia, and known for llicorella soils (slate, granite, and limestone), steeply terraced vineyards, and richly concentrated wines. Rioja is in north-central Spain, and its three subregions are in the Upper Ebro River valley, near the city of Logroño. Rioja Alavesa is on the river’s north bank, and vineyards vary in elevation in the Cantabrian Mountain foothills. South of the Ebro is the Rioja Alta region, where vineyard sites at higher elevation benefit from cooling Atlantic breezes, and Rioja Oriental, where hotter, drier summers are common. Tempranillo is the most planted grape variety in Rioja, followed by Garnacha (Grenache), Graciano, and Mazuelo (aka, Carignan). We can get into Rioja’s aging system and classifications in another post!

Bodegas Campo Viejo is six kilometers west of Logroño and known for sustainable practices; the winery achieved carbon neutral status in 2012. Sourcing grapes widely from a premier growing region allows high volume production wines to maintain an uncompromising standard of quality.

The classic Tinto de Verano, or Campo Spritz, coheres as you leisurely sip it. As the ice melts, citrus and zest notes are fresh and prominent. The wine offers notes of refrigerator-cool cherries and blackberries, more layers of freshness. Summer flavors meld. Given the lower ABV per serving, the Tinto de Verano is as readily enjoyed al fresco on an Andalusian plaza as in one’s backyard.

Variations 🍷

You can find a few other enticing spritz recipes here, including the Blood Orange Hugo Spritz (elderflower liqueur, blood orange juice, Cava) and the dirty spritz (sherry, olive brine, Cava, club soda) both served over ice.

A few riffs on the Tinto de Verano include adding red vermouth, using a Spanish white wine (Verdejo or Albariño, for example) as the base and perhaps adding white vermouth, curating abundant mixed citrus, substituting lemonade, seltzer, or tonic water for the soda, and experimenting with glassware. A highball glass will affect a fizzy craft cocktail, while a wide-bowled wine glass invites slower sipping, allowing time for the wine’s aromas to register and clarify.

“Read on…” will be back next week!

Across the hall from her former bedroom, her grandfather’s presidency is recapped in images, language, and objects, including one of his stovepipe hats and his mirror from the White House. The images show a man growing haggard and weary as the Civil War progresses, much resembling the president of the Ukraine, today. The Gettysburg Address is parsed in quotes on the wall, along with other quotes from Lincoln, including, “I never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.” However, the very first text one sees upon entering the room is a redacted excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson. The language condemned slavery, but was “eliminated by the Continental Congress of 1776 because of objections from South Carolina and Georgia.” It reads, “…he (the king of Britain) has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither…”

The story of America is complicated—painful, and yet a place where freedom to practice one’s beliefs without fear has meant new hope and possibility for many. And it’s ongoing. Milestones like the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence are an opportunity to take in where we’ve been and where we can go from here.

American wine is on a similar journey. The recent 50th anniversaries of the Judgment of Paris and New York’s Farm Winery Act foretell that America’s wine story isn’t ultimately about isolate, premier wine regions known for one or two grapes or wine styles. It’s about recognizing a multitude of histories, landscapes, and possibilities. It’s concurrent exploration of multiple grape varieties within many terroirs. It’s complex, and need not be simplified for us to promote and support it. For that reason, this list of celebratory sparkling wines visits regions and wineries that tend to be underestimated. It represents but a few of many lovely sparklings to be found throughout the U.S.

The Mid Atlantic

Veritas Vineyards and Winery in Virginia’s Monticello AVA also recently marked a significant milestone in surpassing 25 years in operation; the estate was a horse and cattle farm when the Hodson family purchased it in 1999, the first vintage released in 2001. Andrew and Patricia Hodson’s three children now inhabit leadership roles, with Emily Veritas’ winemaker. Three Veritas' wines recently earned gold medals at the Virginia Governor’s Cup, including Scintilla, a nonvintage brut blend of Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay that imparts bright apple, citrus, and pear alongside characteristic brioche notes.

New England

Nancy Parker Wilson established Greenvale Vineyards in 1982 with her parents and her husband Bill, having also served as a landmarks commissioner in Boston’s South End. Now, Nancy and Bill’s son, winemaker Billy Wilson, creates brilliant bottlings of Cabernet Franc, rosé of Merlot, and a lemony, bright pét-nat of Albariño and another of Vidal Blanc.

Like the Wilsons, the Russell family modulates grape growing to the parameters of a cool-climate region along the Atlantic, evoking the best from Chardonnay, Riesling, Geisenheimer, Grüner Veltliner (and so on) at Westport Rivers on Massachusetts’ South Coast. Both the Blanc de Blancs and RJR Cuvées are simply excellent examples of traditional method sparkling wine, beautifully counterbalancing apple, citrus, and toasty, bready notes.

New York

The Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery celebrated its 40th year of sparkling wine production in 2025. Meaghan Frank, the winery’s fourth generation lead as vice president, expresses a reverence for family history and responsible viticulture that permeates winery operations. The collaboration between oenologists Barbara Frank, Konstantin’s granddaughter, and sparkling winemaker Eric Bauman, consistently yields elegant wines that embody beauty and restraint.

The Midwest

Stone Hill Winery, also featured in this spring’s rosé roundup, crafts a non-vintage Blanc de Blancs from Traminette, a hybrid grape developed at Cornell in 1965, that’s refreshing and vital, earning numerous awards from the American Wine Society and the Missouri Wine Competition. Stone Hill was established in 1847 and weathered Prohibition by cultivating mushrooms in its winding cellars and caves; visit to learn more about Missouri’s profound influence on American wine.

As I’ve not made it to Michigan wine country yet, I reached out to Chicago-based writer Ari Bendersky, who publishes Something Glorious (are you subscribed?) for insight. He kindly suggested MAWBY Sparkling Wines on northwest Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula and advised that Modales and Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery “make some very good bubbly.”

Texas and the Southwest

I’m quite certain that Chris Brundrett bleeds red, white and blue, i.e., the colors of the Texas flag. Brundrett is a founding partner at William Chris Vineyards, and he and his team have reimagined and restored a historic post office in Hye, Texas as Rebecca Caroline Sparkling, “where Texas terroir meets bubbles.” A special one to taste right now is the Rebecca Caroline 2023 Dell Valley Cuvée, produced from 1987 Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc vines in the Chihuahuan Desert in Far West Texas, a stone’s throw from New Mexico and east of El Paso. The wine elegantly balances fruit and searing minerality.

Also in the Texas Hill Country, Elisa Christopher Wines’ 2025 Picpoul Blanc, a traditional method sparkling grown at Rowland Taylor Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, will be released July 11th. Picpoul is a bright, lemony variety (a perfect oyster wine, really), with roots in the Languedoc and southern Rhône. This vintage is complemented by floral, vanilla, and brioche notes.

Additionally, avail yourself of special sparklings from the Texas Fine Wine group, like Bending Branch Winery’s sparkling Picpoul Blanc and 2024 Tannat Frizzante Rosé. Both are force carbonated, so need no aging time to integrate. Spicewood Vineyards’ Sammie’s Sparkling, made from Muscat, is named for one of owner Ron Yates’ daughters and made in the traditional method. If in New Mexico, be sure to visit VARA and Gruet, as well.

California and the Pacific Northwest

Much can be written about brothers’ Jon and Kim McPherson’s influence upon the Texas and California wine industries. Both are iconic and gifted oenologists. At South Coast Winery in Temecula, in southern California, Jon McPherson’s dry traditional method wines offer acidity and freshness while upholding fruit expression.

In Paso Robles Estrella District, Robert Hall Winery’s Cavern Select is a round-bodied, vibrant sparking from Grenache Blanc, a keystone of southern Rhône white blends. In the Willow Creek district, Opolo Vineyards vinifies a delicious 100% French Colombard, redolent of pear and citrus.

In Oregon, “Argyle’s traditional method Blanc de Blancs and brut rosé are go-tos, based on incredible high-elevation vineyards in Dundee and Eola-Amity Hills,’ lees aging, and very low dosage,” explains Aileen Sevier, the marketing director for Upper Left, a collection of eight premium wineries distributed by Winebow. Adelsheim, a seminal Willamette Valley producer since 1971, crafts a beautiful single-vineyard traditional method wine from its Bryan Creek estate in the Chehalem Mountains.

In Washington, Tirriddis vinifies several excellent traditional method wines. Tirriddis refers to the three protocols for creating traditional method sparkling, tirage (resting on lees), riddling (rotating and tilting bottles during the secondary fermentation to gather yeast cells in the neck of the bottle) and disgorgement, where yeast is expelled.

Southeast

A native Californian, winemaker Erik Martella’s chemistry degree led him to the wine industry, then to operations at Constellation Brands. He moved to Tennessee to be closer to family in 2018. Martella teaches in the fermentation sciences program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina and draws Muscadine to complex expressions by allowing it time to evolve in the bottle. Erik Martella Wines’ CVB Sparkling is a dry sparkling blend of 60% Carlos, a Muscadine cultivar developed at the North Carolina Agricultural Experimental Station in 1970, and Vidal Blanc. Secondary fermentation happens in a stainless-steel tank, aka, the Charmat Method. The wine is bright and refreshing and has a low ABV, at 9.9%.

Also in the Yadkin Valley, winemakers Kevin Elder and Elizabeth Higley vinify a juicy pet-nat under the Demaracation Wine Co. label at Windsor Run Cellars, Chambourcin co-fermented with blueberries.

In North Georgia, also visit Wolf Mountain Vineyards for award winning sparkling wines, many times over.

Cabernet Franc is a bewitching grape variety, one many wine drinkers readily name as their favorite. Its balance of red fruit, savory herbs, and green pepper flavor characters, alongside notes of spice, render it iconically food friendly, its potential interplay with culinary profiles immeasurable. In cooler climate regions, ripening is slow over a long growing season; pyrezines, the compounds behind those peppery flavors, are fresh and more immediate. In warmer climates, raspberry and cherry notes are ever more in concert with those notes, and wines can be plush and terranean.

The grape’s global reach is also profound. Cabernet Franc is the parent grape for Cabernet Sauvignon (along with Sauvignon Blanc), Merlot (along with Magdalene Noire des Charentes, a grape traced to the 14th century in western France that’s also a parent of Malbec), Carménère (along with Gros Cabernet) and a Basque grape, Hondarribi Beltza. It goes by Breton, Vidure, Bordo, Gros Bouchet, Sable Rouge (among other names) and is expressive in Saint-Émilion’s clay terraces, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Chinon in the Loire Valley, and in New York’s three major wine regions, the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes, and Long Island. Also: in Bergerac, Languedoc, northeast Italy, eastern Spain, Portugal, eastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, South America, Canada, Australia, Asia, Africa, and throughout the U.S..

As Cabernet Franc is eloquent within a plurality of terroirs, the next frontier for vintners like Steven Mirassou who, along with his father, established The Steven Kent Winery in California’s Livermore Valley in 1996, is discerning how those varied flavor profiles change, or how singular flavors refind delicate harmonies after time to evolve in wood and concrete aging vessels. Mirassou, who also publishes Wine Saves Lives! co-founded the Cab Franc Guild of Livermore Valley and, with his wife Beth, created an annual celebration of Cabernet Franc, CabFranc-A-Palooza.

Mirassou’s 2024 vintage is a studious undertaking, aging four Cabernet Franc vinifications from the Morgensen Vineyard, 774 feet above sea level in the Livermore Valley AVA’s Crane Ridge District, for fourteen months each, in four different vessels: neutral barrels (meaning, they aren’t new, and thus impart less oak impact), stainless steel tanks, concrete eggs, and in “Elements,” a blend of all three fermentation vessels within one wine.

The project complements winemaker James Marshall-Lockyer’s inspired 2023 vintage of Onda, a 100% Cabernet Franc bottling from Tenuta Licinia, in the Tuscan province of Arezzo. ‘Onda’ means ‘wave,’ in reference to “the way the land is around Licinia, where small hills progressively and seamlessly seep into each other,” says Marshall-Lockyer. Onda is grown on thin slate soils in the historic Sasso di Fata vineyard, once known as the "Vigna del Calcione," replanted in 2007 by Anne and Jacques de Liedekerke.

The 2023 vintage proved uniquely aromatic, “ripe but very fresh, in a raspberry-floral sort of way,” describes Marshall-Lockyer. That singular intensity and the wine’s continued evolution in foudre (a larger oak vessel than a barrel, resulting in a more diffuse oak impact) compelled Marshall-Lockyer and his team to bottle a 100% Cabernet Franc. The wine is aged for ten months in foudre and then six months in concrete, the combination subtly amplifying tension and complexity, and then texture, respectively.

“The idea came from the vineyard and then the result, rather than as a premeditated decision,” explains Marshall-Lockyer.

In considering aging vessels, says Marshall-Lockyer, “The question is, what hierarchy of aesthetic values are you committed to? Do you value texture and roundness more than beauty with aromas and flavors? Is oak flavor as beautiful or close to as beautiful as the best flavors of the vineyard? I answer ‘no,’ so preserve the flavors from the vineyard. Answering ‘yes’ would mean using a more intense oak regime.”

Mirassou’s experiments are intentional and designed to be revisited, inviting consumers to take the same studious, curious approach to tasting; and, contrasts among the four wines are immediately discernible.

Wines without any oak influence (Steel and Rock, the latter aged in a concrete egg) are fruit-forward. Steel is exuberant and bright, expressing raspberries, cherries, and refined bell pepper notes, while Rock is a lovely sheer ruby with a lighter body and enfolded tannins; it’s food friendly instinctively for its brightness, and will become a wine that Steven Kent Winery sells to restaurants.

“Pyrezine contributes glorious complexity in Cab Franc. The aging vessel can either exacerbate this effect, as with concrete egg and stainless steel tanks or, in the case of new oak, tame it slightly,” explains Mirassou.

By contrast Wood, aged in neutral oak barrels, is reminiscent of a classic Bordeaux wine, with secondary flavors and aromas like chocolate and tobacco. Elements, a fusion of the previous three, expresses a deeper hue, and, like the Wood variation, offers characters like cocoa, mocha, and spice.

Marshall-Lockyer and Mirassou both observe that such trials with Cabernet Franc have great promise, due to the grape’s intrinsic aromatics.

“It has a lighter and more floral profile than Cabernet Sauvignon, and is less tannic. There’s less to soften, and more to preserve aromatically,” explains Marshall-Lockyer.

Mirassou and his team draw their inspiration from Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, from Saumur-Champigny, Chinon, and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil.

“Even at their richest, these wines show a transparency that’s revelatory and flat-out delicious. We try to make Cab Francs that show this multitude of layers as well,” he explains.

Mirassou anticipates continued experimentation, for example, vinifying traditional method sparkling wine, trialing neutral wood fermentations of Cab Franc Blanc, and making vermouth from Cabernet Franc. Marshall-Lockyer has interest in aging Cabernet Franc in small concrete vessels to see what the outcome might be, and also notes lees (spent yeast cells) management can further be leveraged to impact each wine’s ultimate expression.

“It’s exciting that many producers have left behind the caricatural ‘only new oak’ approach—lots of interesting experimentation is crucially less interventionist. The interconnection between the different parts of winemaking and viticulture can then receive more focus,” says Marshall-Lockyer.

“Wine is a bottomless thing, inviting—for those drinkers who are so disposed—us to venture ever deeper into a sensory life. Cab Franc is the most interesting door into that kind of life,” concludes Mirassou.

Upgrade to paid

My most recent visit to Santa Barbara wine country deepened my understanding of this region’s expressive range though, in savoring equally beguiling wines from Rhône and Bordeaux varieties. To explore this versatility, I’ve selected eight wines to impart more of the region’s wine story. I’ve also highlighted a few bonus recommendations at the end to support a well-rounded visit!

Rhône Renaissance

Melville 2022 Estate Syrah and 2023 Donna's Block Syrah

When Chad Melville scoops up a handful of vineyard sand, two things clarify: natural fertilizer is funky and aromatic, and, in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, on the western edge of the Santa Ynez Valley, the Pacific Ocean is just miles away. Winemaking here hinges on as little intervention as possible. Think old oak barrels, wild, local yeasts, and organically farmed estate blocks of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah, sans chemicals or synthetic fertilizers.

Melville’s father Ron founded the estate in 1989, having relocated from Knight’s Valley, a warm, northeast pocket of Sonoma County, for the maritime climate; it’s often mild and cool—on that precipice of “making it all work,” Melville describes, adding, “Farming is ultimately a release of control. Our job is to capture the vintage, not to create it.”

Estate Syrahs have a dark interior and perfumed, elevated, briny flavor profiles; this is particular so in examples from Donna’s Block, where 100% whole cluster (with grape stems included) fermentation amplifies those savory notes. These are distinct Syrahs, even among Santa Barbara County’s seven AVAs. Melville describes Pinot as a great “lens to see the land, for its lifted red fruit, structure, and acidity.” Syrah similarly renders Santa Barbara County’s micro-terroirs.

Clementine Carter Mourvèdre and Grenache Blanc

Downtown Los Alamos is a small town of less than 1,500, between the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valleys and roughly 15 miles from the ocean. Within seven blocks are several examples of world class food and wine, like Sonja Magdevski’s tasting room, Clementine Carter. The space is both a feminist party (an allusion to a flagship red blend) and nods to the town’s roots as an old Western stagecoach stop. An ostensible “poker room” is tucked behind a black curtain, and an adjacent Beer Emporium likens a turn of the century apothecary, mementos from Magdevski’s Michigan childhood tucked among vintage finds like bronze eagle wings and old ads for Valley Beauty California Quality Grapes: grade school class photos and watercolors, and her father’s 2011 award from the Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia for (among other things) “contributing to the unification of the Macedonian Diaspora in Detroit, Michigan.”

Magdewksi focuses on cool-climate wines, whole cluster fermentation, and again, minimal intervention. Mourvèdre from the Robert Rae Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills is picked in November, the very end of harvest in the northern hemisphere, and at 22 “brix” (i.e., sugar), the lower end for red wines and thus producing a lighter-bodied, lower alcohol vibrant, ruby-hued styling. Hearty, gamey notes are in surrender here to the lighter, brighter expression of cherries, lavender, and lilacs. Magdevski’s Grenache Blanc, a grape that can have a round body but wane on acidity, also reframes expectations, as it greets with citrus and pear and has a silkier texture.

A Tribute to Grace 2023 Grenache

Angela Osborne is the Grenache whisperer. A New Zealand-born film student-turned winemaker, Osborne was drawn to California in 2006 by “abundant sunshine and entrepreneurial spirit.” Her first vintage in 2007 was sourced from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley, 33 miles east of Santa Barbara and at 3,200 feet of elevation, in the Sierra Madre Mountains. The vineyard is isolate, sandy, and otherworldly. The 2023 vintage, from the exact same vineyard, is ethereal and delicate, floral, and restrained, just tart cherries held together by flowers and acidity, like lace. Osborne describes the wine best, imagining “a barefoot woman riding a horse bareback while holding a stick of burning incense.” Why on earth would I even try to describe it otherwise? Be sure to visit Angela’s Los Alamos tasting room when local, as well as Lumen Wines and others.

Bordeaux Expressions

Crown Point 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

This was my last sip of the trip, and a richly delicious one. Grapes are sourced from the warmer Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA, further inland and on the eastern edge of the Santa Ynez Valley, with breathtaking valley views of San Rafael Mountains. The warmer climate supports varieties that need time to ripen, like Cabernet Sauvignon. Crown Point’s 2021 vintage, crafted by winemaker AJ Fairbanks, includes 3% Petit Verdot, though the wine is firmly in deep ruby Cabernet territory. Tasting notes include cocoa, chocolate, blackberry, graphite, and cassis, and tannins are elegantly interknit, buoying the wine’s structure like a backtstage mom stage whispering lines.

Carhartt Family Wines 2025 Sauvignon Blanc and Dreamcôte’s 2024 Sauvignon Blanc

Sixty-acre Rancho Santa Ynez is a former dairy and swine operation turned family vineyard and winery, acquired by the Carhartt family in 1954. Estate-grown Sauvignon Blanc evinces freshly sliced grapefruit, green apple, and lime with a medium body due to separate (then blended) fermentations, 50% in stainless steel, and 50% in neutral oak. The latter contributes texture, while steel supports what winemaker and co-owner Chase Carhartt calls “a clean edge.” The result is a wine with mouth watering acidity, a medium body, and delicate flavor profiles—a wine of both substance and freshness. Carhartt’s production is diverse, its Venture label a platform for experimentation, including a beautiful berry fresh vintage of Mission, aka Listan Prieto, a historic variety dating from 1756 in California. Wines are crafted by Chase and his mother Brooke, one of the region’s breakthrough female winemakers, who originated Carhartt Family Wines in 1998.

Another splendid Sauvignon Blanc comes from Brit and Ryan Zotovitch of Dreamcôte, this one grown in the Vogelzang and Grassini vineyards, again in the warmer Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA. Liquid gold captures citrus, body, and complexity. Both Carhartt and Dreamcôte have tasting rooms in Los Olivos.

Bonus Recommendations

Your ultimate guide to wine tasting is here; also visit the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern on Wednesday evenings to gab with local winemakers and to taste featured local wines!

Artist studios, tasting rooms, boutiques, hotels, and eateries occupy industrial lots and small city streets in the Funk Zone in downtown Santa Barbara, where white stucco Mission-style buildings with red Spanish tiled-rooftops are in tableau against the backdrop of the Santa Ynez Mountains. The Hotel Californian’s outdoor paseo (pictured above) is a place to unwind, as is The Society wine bar, Djinn cocktail lounge, and Blackbird. I recommend going all in on the tomahawk steak, which is accompanied by luscious roasted potatoes and tomatoes, butter, chimichurri, truffled bearnaise—etc. Margerum Wine Company’s tasting room is across from the hotel’s main entrance, a fortuitous opportunity to taste excellent examples of the region’s torchbearers, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

To see the region’s hills and valleys from above, book a tour with Captain James Lawson of Sky's the Limit Ballooning.

Read on…

It’s been a busy month in terms of publications. For Decanter, I wrote “Three Reasons to Start Drinking Albana, Romagna’s Signature White Grape” and “What’s Next for Washington State’s Wines?

For SevenFifty Daily, I explored ”Why More Wineries Are Betting on High-Volume Wines” and for Wine Enthusiast,“As Developers Close In, This Historic California AVA Is Standing Its Ground.”

Imbibe gathered seven domestic Rhônes to try, with inspiration from my May story “White Hot. In a Warming World, Grapes of the Southern Rhône are Thriving Stateside.”

It’s *still* rosé season, so don’t miss these recos: “It’s Rosé Season. Choose Wisely, Favoring Personality, Panache, and Sense of Place.”

Lastly, for more Cali wine inspiration, check out the Petite Wine Traveler’s Substack!

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In my twenties, when I lived alone in Brooklyn, summers were a little melancholy. Marrying someone who could easily end each summer day by photographing the sunset played a part in shifting my perception. I’m also not in my twenties anymore, and the things I love—writing, reading, cooking, and wine pairings—are accessible daily, especially during the summer. Now, summer is about the fullness of the present.

This post fuses two summer joys. Literature and wine are both transporting, the former in our absorption with and commitment to characters, plot, story, and a writer’s voice, the latter in understanding where something sensorily alive and pleasing was produced, and how it’s connected to a place in the world. I’m not suggesting you drink a bottle of wine with each selected text below; rather, I suggest exploring the intersection of text and a suggested wine’s flavors and aromas, and noticing what that brings up in terms of memory and imagination.

I’ve asked some of the most insightful readers I know to offer a few recommendations, including my accomplished teaching colleagues and Joel Stein, aka The Corrupt Wine Writer, whose Substack makes for excellent summer reading as well. There are nine book recommendations below, seven novels and two memoirs, each with a suggested wine pairing.

• At the very end of this post, please find an invitation to a special event in New York City next Monday, June 8th.

• I’m also hosting a Wine Flights book talk Sunday August 2, at 7:00 p.m Eastern (virtually), the selected read being Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch. I’ll note this in the Subscriber chat. Let me know if you plan to participate!

Summer Reading List: Fiction

John Mitchell Morris releases his first novel, In the Trembling Heart, through Starlite Street Press on June 16th (pre-order any time though). The book, set in Los Angeles, is absorbing, mining the internal terroir of similar moments I discussed above—being young in a city that can feel overwhelming and unfamiliar and finding selfhood and genuine connection. Porter Benjamin is an aspiring actor from Texas, carrying unresolved grief and uncertainty about his engagement to marry his longtime girlfriend, Sarah. His life and sense of self are transformed in meeting Henry Paley, a revered writer for stage and screen whose career is in a moment of de-evolution. The themes are profound and the writing is electric, an infusion of California sunshine. Thus, I recommend Wonderwerk’s Big Crispy, a low ABV blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño, and Chenin Blanc, all from Clarksburg, lively, bright, and irreverent.

Hemlock is Melissa Faliveno’s second book; the first, Tomboyland, an essay collection, will leave you awed by the capabilities within the essay genre, and of Melissa’s exacting approach to piecing together internal topography with issues of place, class, and gender. In Hemlock, a woman, Sam, returns to the Wisconsin woods from Brooklyn and becomes haunted by her surroundings, the woods where her mother vanished. As the book takes place in springtime and explores, among other things, alcoholism, pair it with Wolffer’s Spring in a Bottle, a non-alcoholic sparkling rosé.

In Ann Patchett’s new work, Whistler, Daphne and her stepfather Eddie reunite forty years after a near-death accident ended Eddie’s relationship with Daphne’s mother. The book considers resilience, transcendence, and the capacity to recast and deepen relationships. My colleague at the State University of New York at Purchase (Purchase College), Emily Sausen, an avid and diverse fiction reader, describes Patchett’s writing as “beautifully spare and unadorned.” Given the focus on joy and possibility, I recommend Chateau Montelena’s celebratory Blanc de Blanc, the iconic winery’s first sparkling, available from July 3 through July 5. Also consider Westborn’s California sparklings, with grapes from historic vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. The Corrupt Wine Writer’s review of these wines, which look exceptional, will post the week of July 4.

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson debuts June 30. In coastal Massachusetts, Caroline Lash “falls head-over-heels for Van Whittaker, a fleece-wearing, litter-collecting, kayak enthusiast with long, floppy hair and the personality of a Border collie.” Houseboat parties, beach bars, and sunbathing ensue until Van’s ex-girlfriend Bailey becomes pregnant with Van’s baby. Caroline is ousted from the group, inciting “a potent mix of fury and heartbreak.” Emily describes Jackson as “a bit of a modern-day Jane Austen, in that she chronicles social life for the upper classes in a somewhat ironic, amusing way.” You’ll need a wine with salinity for this one, like a Vinho Verde; I’m quite obsessed with the one below. Another compelling option is Portal of the Gardens Avesso Reserve White 2022.

In Lee Conell’s The Party Upstairs, the friendship between Ruby, the daughter of an apartment building super, and Caroline, the daughter of a wealthy tenant, is the foundation for a novel about class difference in New York City. When the two women are adults, Ruby moves back into her parents’ basement apartment; the novel’s crucible is Caroline’s party, “in her father’s glorious penthouse apartment, a party Ruby looks forward to and dreads in equal measure.” This calls for Prosecco, which has complex status given the primacy of Champagne in the world of sparkling wine, too often dismissed before its potential for complexity is understood. Find many excellent options made by Mionetto.

Dreamt I Found You by Jimin Han revisits the archetypal and tragic class-forbidden love story of Chunhyang and Mongryong, Korea’s Romeo and Juliet allegory. Premonition, Korean folklore, and magic propel the story forward. Cousins Dahee and Channing share a deep, sister-like bond throughout their lives. As adults, Dahee lives in a New England beach town. Channing, whose path has been more fraught, loves Minjae Oh, “all the while fending off the advances of powerful, manipulative Kent Cho, a local politician.” As Kent’s obsession intensifies, and Dahee must protect her cousin from meeting Chunhyang and Mongryong’s tragic ending. I’ve linked to some meritorious sojus here, including Yong Soju from Minhwa Spirits. Given the New England coastal setting, I’d also again suggest a wine with salinity, like Vermentino. This one, from Duchman Family Winery, is exquisite.

Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian is about married creative writing professors, Simone and Ethan, whose extramarital entanglements become the subject of a “breathtakingly invasive MFA thesis” written by Simone’s advisee and confidante. Professor Elise Lemire, a writer and scholar about race in America, recommended this one, observing, “This novel might be a tad gimmicky with how it treats POV, but I love a novel where you can tell the author actually suffered through graduate school.” Sold. A ‘seductive’ wine strikes me as one with elegant integration—a good time to explore the 15 Paso Robles wineries that comprise the region’s CAB Collective.

Summer Reading List: Memoir

Joel Stein recommends two memoirs where the later-in-life processing of a father-son relationship restitches past and present. Tom Junod investigates his father’s secrets, transgressions, infidelities, and deceptions in In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man. Junod wrote the iconic Esquire profile of Fred Rogers that became the basis for the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

Restrung: A Memoir of Music and Transformation by Vijay Gupta debuts next week and mines the narrator’s journey from child violin prodigy to joining the L.A. Philharmonic at age 19 to founding Street Symphony, an organization bringing music to the homeless and incarcerated, which earned Gupta a MacArthur genius grant. I’ll share one excerpt of Joel’s interview with Vijay, which posts next week: “It’s a paradox. I loved being on stage. I was 19 years old in the LA Phil, feeling like an absolute badass. Who wouldn’t get off on playing with John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl and seeing 18,000 lightsabers in the audience? So I told myself that brutality was worth it. I didn’t ask myself what happiness meant for me until after I left the LA Philharmonic….”

As both texts unflinchingly look to the past to clarify the present, I’d recommend raiding the cellar, as these writers had to do psychically, for an aged wine from Bourgogne.

Special Events

Let me know if you’d like to join the August 2 book talk! During a 45-minute discussion, do sip wine from a French region of your choosing.

A magical early summer evening is in store at Move the Passion next Monday June 8^th, sharing wine from many Italian DOCs as part of The Charming Taste of Europe. Guests will enjoy wines at the Hall Des Lumières, New York Vintners, and the Arlo Soho Rooftop. The event is free but by invitation only—consider yourself invited! Register using the code WINEFLIGHTS. More details: www.movethepassion.com

May started at an end, in a sense.

The capstone for the Allen Shoup Fellowship for Writers and Communicators came earlier this month, with publication of "What's Next for Washington State's Wines?" This story for Decanter includes insight from Washington state’s vintners, grape growers, and industry advocates from the Puget Sound to the Yakima Valley to Walla Walla, and regions in between and beyond. Ultimately, this fellowship, for me, became about covering ground. Moving forward. Feeling momentum.

I think most writers would agree that those three things—covering ground, moving forward, feeling momentum—are of unique value in the writing world. Freelance life necessitates embracing self-promotion and self-concept. It demands following industry trends and evolving stories without certainty a commissioned story will follow. Therefore, support, in its many forms, cannot be undervalued.

I’m grateful for the support this fellowship offered this past year. As it concludes, I can articulate three insights I’ll hold onto as my writing career progresses.

Relationships—between wine producers, viticulturists, public relations professionals, and journalists—aren’t fleeting or transactional, and regional coverage can’t be resolved within one post or article. Professional relationships occupy a long trajectory. Conversations continue, over time and in step with the industry’s evolution. It’s especially intuitive to return to sources we’ve had meaningful and unhurried conversations with now, as the wine industry renews its messaging to reach consumers of a new generation.

Learning a wine region’s origin story is vital to telling a substantive story. I’m not finished learning Washington’s origin story, but I’ve traversed several eras. (I did just receive my copy of The Wine Project: Washington State’s Winemaking History by Ronald Irvine and Walter Clore, and can recommend!) Many U.S. wine regions often considered “emerging” planted post-Prohibition grapevines in the 1960s and 1970s, but had vital 19th century wine industries. I continue to wonder how diverse our palates might be today had Prohibition not disrupted local wine production.

Lastly, venues that commend writing in turn nurture confidence, which stirs purpose, possibility, and excitement to participate, and strengthens the writing voice. Confidence is life-altering. This is why championing and supporting fellow writers and communicators has become part of my writing and publishing practice. I’m often in awe of my colleagues—how they transform what they learn into relevancy that compels even those who aren’t infatuated with wine to notice its intersections with science, art, history, culture, and social traditions. To that end, a holiday-weekend-sized Read on…section follows. And, applications for the Allen Shoup fellowship close early this week—I’d be glad to answer any questions for those inclined to apply, now, or in the future!

Read on…

My day begins with The Spill, a daily compendium of wine news. features. articles, podcasts, interviews, reviews (and so on), compiled by Tom Wark (Wark Communications), who has been involved in wine media relations for thirty years. The Spill is for “the enthusiast, wine curious, and wine knowledgeable who want an easy, scannable digest of the world of wine.” I so enjoy reading through each morning. For a “daily drop,” subscribe!

I’m a fan of Tina Caputo’s reportage, and her new story for SevenFifty Daily, “The Story Behind the American Wine Crisis” is another masterwork. I also enjoyed Tom R. Capo’s “There’s Still Hope for Californian Wine, According to These Industry Veterans” for Wine Enthusiast, which is structured as a conversation among industry pros and concludes with an interesting assemblage of comparative production numbers from the Judgment of Paris era (1976), the turn of the 21st Century, and present day.

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I’ve been a New Yorker for two decades and my parents were born and raised here, but I still rely on stories like Vicki Denig’s “Best New York wine bars: 15 great venues to visit,” for Decanter, to keep me up to date.

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My last post focused on domestic rosés to try; I also really liked VinePair’s collection of thirty rosés from around the world.

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George Nordahl’s “Grapes Built to Fight Back” is a thorough overview of red and white PIWI varieties, which have been bred for disease resistance.

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It’s Memorial Day weekend—what are you grilling, roasting, frying, sautéing…? Are there conditions wherein red wine and fish might make for a good pairing? Indeed, there are. Kathleen Willcox investigates in this story for Good Housekeeping.

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Wanda Mann’s “Would you spend $812,500 for a bottle of wine?” is a fascinating deep dive into the sale at auction of a 1945 bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

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Have you ordered your copy of Italianity? I’m moved by the avant-garde structure and cultural impact of this project, created by Andrea Lonardi, MW and Jessica Dupuy.

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I worked on this story for Wine Enthusiast about the Contra Costa American Viticultural Area, where suburbanization has “followed the BART east from San Francisco,” says Morgan Twain-Peterson, MW and co-owner and vintner at Bedrock Wine Co.. Vintners are driving the charge for the preservation of 19th century vineyards that are caught between housing subdivisions, municipal buildings, and Amazon fulfillment centers. I also expand upon the benefits of high-volume wine production in this story for SevenFifty Daily.

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More about Allen Shoup…

Allen Shoup came of age in a Detroit suburb and, having pursued a career in business, sales, and marketing, was recruited by E.J. Gallo in 1975, and joined Chateau Ste. Michelle in 1980. Shoup pursued federal designation of the Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area, which now contains 17 of the Washington’s 21 AVAs, developed partnerships with renowned winemakers like Ernst Loosen and Renzo Cotarella of Antinori, giving them runway to create Eroica and Col Solare, respectively. These profound Washington wines conveyed the state’s agricultural virtuosity to a global audience in the 1990s. He developed contemporary wine brands that have realized immense retail success and are now iconic, and lead with ambition, creativity, and collaboration as guides.

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Earlier this year, Max Rohn, CEO of Wölffer Estate in Long Island’s Hamptons AVA, reminded me of the foreboding headlines from 2014 and 2015: “There’s a Severe Rosé Shortage in the Hamptons” (The Cut) and “Rosé running dangerously low in the Hamptons” (The New York Post). Past and present momentarily collided. In 2015, my husband and I had just joined Channing Daughters Winery’s wine club in Bridgehampton. We journeyed east from Brooklyn a few times each summer to chisel away at massive wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano and sip rosé alongside scores of restless city dwellers seeking respite from their tiny apartments in the winery’s green, sun-drenched estate vineyard. At the time, my husband had texted me links to the exact same articles Max referenced: “Uh-oh!” Our pilgrimages for salty air, boogie boarding, and wine tastings ultimately led us to associate the wines we brought home with their growing place intuitively—sandy soils, gentle maritime breezes, temperate golden hour vineyard strolls—and to thus appreciate them differently.

Rosé imparts the flavors that constitute summer—strawberry, raspberry, peach, cherry, watermelon, nectarine, herbs, citrus zest, guava, and so on. The bounty of fresh summer fruit is balanced by acidity, minerality, sapidity (savoriness), salinity— ultimately, by a sense of aliveness and immediacy. We are refreshed, and when September comes, ready for another busy autumn. So many small production rosés defy homogeneity and capture seasonal abundance—consider this selection a primer for some new bottlings to try!

California

Bouchaine 2024 Vin Gris of Pinot Noir

Honestly, any wine that Chris Kajani has a hand in, from Alsatian-style Riesling to single-clone Pinot Noirs to this rosé, which expresses tiny summer strawberries just home from the farmer’s market, so fresh and lively they don’t even make it to the fridge before being devoured, brings one right into the present moment. This wine has a more saturated strawberry pink hue than paler versions of ‘vin gris’ (where grapes are immediately pressed, with little to no maceration beforehand) and is produced exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes. Eighty-five percent of the lot has been “whole cluster pressed,” meaning grape stems are included in the fermentation, and the remaining 15% percent is ‘saignée’ rosé, where some juice is “bled” from a red wine fermentation that’s just gotten underway, expressly for rosé; the remaining red wine benefits from a closer ratio of contact with grape skins. All grapes for this one are cultivated on Bouchaine’s 100-acre, sustainably-farmed estate in Napa Valley’s Carneros region.

Missouri

Stone Hill Winery Dry Rosé

In the 19th century, Missouri was the epicenter of American wine production. This wine is part of the state’s post-Prohibition viticultural renaissance, and embodies the height of summer’s yield of strawberries, watermelon, and peaches, with a medium body and bright acidity. It’s a blend of three hybrid grapes, i.e. the breeding two different grape species. Chambourcin has unconfirmed parentage, while Chardonel is a union of Chardonnay and Seyval blanc, the latter also a hybrid; Chardonel was developed in 1953 at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Cornell University. Traminette, developed at Cornell in 1965, is a hybrid of ‘Joannes Seyve 23.416’ and Gewürztraminer.

New York

Channing Daughters Molti Rosati (Many Rosés) program

As Long Island rosés, and Channing Daughters in particular, began this journey, I’m linking to the winery’s Molti Rosati (Many Rosés) program. In 2025, seven were produced, blends and single-vineyard, single-varietal expressions that are balanced by sea breezes and maritime climes. Per the winery, “The East End of Long Island has the climate, the food and the feeling that engenders the production of great rosé,[…] especially with the bounty of the ocean, the bays, and the land where we grow our grapes and make our wine.” Long Island’s sandy terroirs produce bright rosés of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Refosco and Lagrein, among others, the latter two grapes indigenous to northern Italy’s Alto Adige region.

Macari 2024 Sparkling Horses Cabernet Franc

When Macari, on Long Island’s North Fork, releases a vintage of Horses, make haste. This is a pétillant-naturel (aka, pét-nat) series, a sparkling style made via the ‘ancestral method,’ wherein wine is bottled before fermentation completes, resulting in carbonation. Winemaker Byron Elmendorf brings forth the best from Cabernet Franc, New York’s signature red grape, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and so on; the Taste of New York Collection is a nice introduction to New York wine, featuring a Horses bottling, a Chardonnay harvested early to express bright acidity, and Cabernet Franc.

Wölffer Estate Summer in a Bottle Long Island Rosé 2025

In 2014, Wölffer released Summer in a Bottle, a runaway hit made from a blend of eight to ten grapes grown in Long Island’s sandy soils; its success later inspired production abroad of Summer in a Bottle Côte de Provence and Loire. An annual delight, SiB is a blend of Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, often Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, and sometimes, a hint of Gewurstraminer, “for a floral lift,” described Rohn, while remaining on the right side of freshness, balance, and acidity.

Dr. Konstantin Frank 2025 Dry Rosé 2025

We’re journeying to the Finger Lakes for this berry burst, a pale pink rosé redolent of raspberries and strawberries, with a bit more plushness of fruit, ever so slightly sweet—think juicy strawberries and ripe watermelon. The 2025 is 90% Cabernet Franc and 10% Blaufränkisch; stay tuned for varietal roses at Dr. Konstantin Frank in the near future, Pinot noir, Blaufränkisch, and Cabernet Franc.

North Carolina

JOLO Vineyard 2025 Twinkles, Sparkling Rosé

This is beautifully balanced sparkling wine hails from North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley region, on the northern border of the Piedmont and in the Sauratown Mountains. It’s a refreshing coalescence of red berries, citrus, stone fruit, and floral notes, a blend of 57% Traminette, 30 % Chambourcin, and 13% Vidal Blanc that pairs versatilely.

Texas

Pedernales Cellars 2025 Aletheia Rosé

I tasted this wine earlier this spring at Rhône Rangers in Paso Robles, an event celebrating the prominence and adaptability of Rhône varieties in U.S. terroirs. Aletheia is 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvedre, both sustainably grown in the Texas High Plains, and both with roots in the southern Rhône and the Iberian Peninsula (as Mataro and Garnacha, respectively, for the latter). This is a special wine, substantive and layered, evolving from a first impression of berries to stone fruit and then to tropical fruit on the palate.

Spicewood Vineyards 2024 Grenache Rosé

In the glass, this wine is luminous rose gold, offering pristine acidity, fresh raspberries, sliced watermelon, orange peel—the best of summer and a brilliant, food friendly counterpart to pasta with lobster in a tomato-cream sauce, oysters mignonette, and strawberry arugula salad.

Tatum Cellars 2024 Rosé of Carignan

This is a bright expression of cranberry and cherry notes from winemaker Joshua Fritsche, with a relatively moderate ABV of 12.2%. Tatum Cellars is a Texas Hill Country gem in Johnson City, a historic small town (President Lyndon Johnson’s birthplace!) just east of Fredericksburg. Visit alongside other exceptional wineries like Crowson Wines, Lewis Wines, and Farmhouse Vineyards.

Oregon and Washington

Cave B 2024 Dry Rosé

In Washington’s Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley AVA, Cave B is an estate winery dating from the 1980s. The Byran family originated what is now the Gorge Amphitheater and Sagecliffe Resort and farms 19 grape varieties in windy climes and shallow sand and silt soils that are the result of Missoula floodwash. Glimpses of the Columbia River, shades of emerald and slate wending through the gorge, invite you to “B” yourself, says winemaker Freddy Arredondo. This wine is a blend in almost equal parts of Syrah, Malbec, and Tempranillo; it’s fuller-bodied and deeper in color, a symphonic expression of strawberry, peach, and tropical notes.

Goose Ridge Estate Winery 2023 Revelation Rosé

Washington' petite Goose Gap AVA is in the south-central part of the state, and defined by the east-west orientation of Goose Mountain, an uplift that’s part of the Yakima Fold Belt. A gap “between Goose Mountain to the west and Badger and Candy Mountains to the east” creates Goose Gap, which (along with Goose Mountain) is named for its passageway for migratory waterfowl. Goose Ridge is the only winery in the AVA, and this pale pink rosé is reminiscent of a cool berry granita and chilled watermelon slices.

Irvine & Roberts 2025 Rosé of Pinot Noir

If you can get to this Rogue Valley estate in southern Oregon, you’re in for a decadent pairing experience and awesome beauty, the grandeur of the Siskiyou Mountains offering perspective and reverie. You are also in striking distance of Crater Lake National Park and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in downtown Ashland. This wine is strawberry freshness that has the structured minerality to pair with savory summer fare like grilled vegetables and glazed chicken, or, later, with strawberries and cream.

itä wines’ 2025 Rosé of Zinfandel and Primitivo

A blend of Zinfandel and Primitivo (the latter thrives in Puglia, the former in California, and parentage is almost identical), this rosé is structured and fruity at once. It’s cultivated within the Les Collines Vineyard on the eastern edge of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, in the Blue Mountain foothills. ‘Ïta’ means “east’ in Finnish. The grapes macerate ‘on the skins’ for four hours, gently extracting color and tannins. Winemaker Kelsey Albro Ïtameri is a one woman wonder, who prioritizes a low intervention approach.

Troon Vineyard, Druid’s Pink

This southern Oregon site in the Applegate Valley AVA was replanted in 2016 to achieve Demeter and Regenerative Organic Gold Certified status; wines are alive in a different way, the soil’s vitality imparting acidity and dynamism. Druid’s Pink is a southern Rhône blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, and Counoise, the grapes selected during replanting to align with the region’s Mediterranean climate.

Read on…

White grapes of the southern Rhône are in diaspora in the U.S., hardy, bright, and resilient. I wrote about their progression abroad in the May/June issue of Imbibe magazine. I don’t think this one will be online, but I’m sharing the featured image with best wishes to Imbibe, which has just marked it’s twentieth (!) year of publication! The image is from Acquiesce Winery in Lodi, where the 2025 rosé of Cinsault is a brand new release. I’ve been wrapping up the school year, and look forward to sharing more soon.

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The Roero DOCG is nestled in Italy’s hilly northwest Piedmont (Piemonte) region, north of Barolo, just west of Barbaresco, and on the left bank of the Tanaro River between Langhe and Monferrato. Roero is named for a Middle Age banking and trading family that sprawled into the region from Asti, entrenched in a feudal system of land acquisition. It’s now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site where vine pollen dates from the 5th century B.C.

It’s rare for a DOCG to center both signature white and red wines, in this case, Roero Arneis DOCG, a white wine made from the Arneis grape, and Roero Rosso DOCG, crafted from Nebbiolo, the core grape for coveted bottlings from Barbaresco and Barolo. Jancis Robinson recalls in her masterwork, Wine Grapes, “According to local tradition, Arneis used to be planted together with Nebbiolo to attract birds with its strong flavour, thus protecting Nebbiolo…It was also used to soften Nebbiolo, which may explain the synonym Nebbiolo Bianco.” Lively, fresh, bright examples of both from Roero evoke that feeling of vibrancy and immediacy that Dupuy and Lonardi pursue in Italianity. These wines are also newly encountering U.S. and Canadian consumers thanks to Sip and Savor: Pairing European Wines and Deli Meats, Campaign Co-funded by the European Union, a campaign championing locally and sustainably produced regional agriculture, food (particularly salume, or cured meats) and wines.

The Grapes of Roero

The name ‘Arneis’ is speculated to refer to an ancient vineyard, Bric Renesio, or, writes Robinson, “in local dialect ‘arneis’ may have described a wily and temperamental person {…} reflecting how difficult it is to grow and vinify.”

Though Arneis can peak and wane on acidity if left too long on the vine during the growing season, it typically builds a fuller-bodied, bright, single-varietal wine (many domestic bottlings also attest to that, for example from Birdhorse Wines in California and Veer Wine Project in Idaho). More tannins, compared to other aromatic whites, support structure and bottle aging, and Arneis can express notes of almond and saffron. As such, it’s a ready counterpart for entrée courses like porcini-rubbed strip steak (as at Bottino, helmed by Chef Jamie Kenyon in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood), and pasta amatriciana with guanciale.

Both Arneis and Nebbiolo thrive on Roero’s sandy soils, remnants of an ancient seabed. A later earthquake married limestone and marl (rock that coalesces sand, clay, and fossils) with alluvial sediments and silt, leading to nuanced texture and minerality, depending on the vineyard terroir. “Similar to when Grenache is planted on sand and imparts elegance, Nebbiolo does the same, and has a gossamer quality,” says Ray Isle, the wine editor at Food & Wine magazine.

Wines That Evoke History and Italianity

Angelo Negro’s organically farmed vineyards in the village of Monteu Roero date from the 17th century; Giovanni Negro, the estate founder, made the first dry Roero Arneis on record here in 1971. In 2025, Angelo Negro’s Sette Anni Roero Riserva 2018 earned a Tre Bicchieri (”Three Glasses”) commendation, the highest accolade a wine can earn from Gambero Rosso’s Vini d’Italia guide. This wine rests on lees (spent yeast cells) for seven months and is aged for seven years (“sette anni”) before release, eliciting floral notes and unflappable structure.

Other noteworthy bottlings that can be found in the U.S. market include Malvira Roero Arneis 2024, Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis 2023, Elvio Cogno Montegrilli Nebbiolo 2023, and Giovanni Almondo Roero Rosso 2022.

Al fresco dining will soon return (a comforting thought during an endless winter) and thanks to fortuitous intersections—in the vineyard, on the table, on the page, and in pairing regional agriculture and wine to reach a global audience— we’ll have more to bring to the table when it does.

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Read on…

Italianity releases on April 28. I encourage pre-ordering, as this includes access to Dupuy’s paid subscriber scale for her Substack, Direct to Press. Order a signed copy from the authors at italianity.wine!

I have a new story about vertical shoot positioning (VSP) online at SevenFifty Daily. Vertically training the vine canopy makes for an attractive and easily mechanized vineyard; for these reasons, VSP was widely embraced as post-Prohibition viticulture hit it stride between the 1970s and the mid-aughts. Now, refined knowledge of regional climatic tendencies and the imperative to conserve financial and environmental resources suggests other systems are better-suited to modern viticulture. Read on, with a glass of Roero in hand, ideally!

Wine plays a supporting but meaningful role in The Traitors, a reality game series that has captured my imagination in ways I couldn’t have predicted, so I’ve gathered a few suggested bottlings for you to enjoy with the finale—more on that is below, but first, the origin story.

The Traitors’ Game Plan

The Traitors adapts a BBC One series for a U.S. audience; it’s in its fourth season, and is hosted by Alan Cumming at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. The cast all present to one another as “faithfuls,” but three traitors are among them. As the ensemble completes physically and intellectually demanding missions, each successful one accruing money for a prize bank, faithfuls attempt to determine who the traitors are. At nightly roundtables, the collective votes to banish one person, whose identity—traitor or faithful—is revealed after it’s decided who will go. Traitors also gather each night in a shadowy castle turret to “murder” one faithful, most often carried out by wax-sealed letter. At game’s end, the bank is split evenly among the surviving faithfuls or claimed entirely by any traitors who’ve eluded banishment.

Cumming’s wardrobe is mercurial and elaborate–through style, texture, color, and attention to historiography, his ensembles summon allusions to the French Revolution, Elizabethan masquerades, Pollack paintings, Space Age robots, La Pieta, steampunk amalgams, and so on, a metaphor for the mercuriality of human nature—the tendency to drift and be adrift by nature of where our emotions and perceptions lead us. In the castle, alliances and betrayals form and decay, and the game takes a toll on players, the majority of whom are reality television personalities. In the recent penultimate episode, even stoic Rob Rausch, a Love Island alum and masterful strategist, started his confessional interview dazed and melancholy. So close to victory, he explained, “I can’t help but genuinely feel bad. It’s hard for me to distinguish, I’m playing a game versus, this is a person, and I’m using their feelings and emotions to win this game.”

Wine Yields Vulnerability and Intimacy

Following roundtables, the bar in a sitting room of Ardross Castle is set with an eclectic lineup of vintage wine glasses, chonky, colorful, thick goblets summoning eras past, some accented with elaborate gold filigree. Wine is a vehicle for decompression and vulnerability—the screwcaps come off the mini bottles and the day’s events are processed. The emotional workings under the surface, the anguish of the game itself, are laid bare. Wine works the same magic it does in the best of circumstances, where earnest, unhurried, conversation creates intimacy and connection. In an environment where it seems implausible, where nothing is routine or stable, wine is a familiar and constant, a vestige of home and selfhood. The nightly ritual makes possible the same meaningful and confessional moments that occur in the quiet of our day-to-day, in a high stakes, constructed environment.

The season began with 23 cast members, which I’ve grouped to curate eight suggested pairings, based on gaming strategy and personality. All are readily available in the retail market. Note: Spoilers are below.

Overlooked and Underrated: California Old Vine Zinfandel

In homage to those who were banished too soon, the suggested pairing is a California old vine Zinfandel. Porsha Williams of Real Housewives of Atlanta and Ian Terry, of Big Brother were the first to go. “Gamers,” like Terry, Tiffany Mitchell (Big Brother) and Rob Cesternino (Survivor), were perceived as threats, and comedian Ron Funches was dismissed for leading the charge against Porsha. All had more to give, much like examples of old vine Zinfandel which are plush and concentrated, with notes of cherry, rose petal, and weathered oak. This example from Cline Cellars averages $18 retail.

Balancing Alliances: The Bordeaux Blend

Traitors must tend their alliances with care, not only among faithfuls, but with one another—this includes Rausch, Candiace Dillard Bassett of Real Housewives of Potomac, Lisa Rinna (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), and a recruited traitor, singer-songwriter Eric Nam. Only a Bordeaux blend would serve, and this one can be found at Costco. Madame de Beaucaillou’s 2020 Left Bank blend balances red berries and plum with delicate floral reverb, a blend of 66% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Petit Verdot.

Oaked Chardonnay: Polarizing Yet Exquisite

Wearing one’s emotions on their sleeve, on television and IRL, comes at a cost. In the castle, this arouses suspicions; outspoken players are often exiled or murdered based on personality, like actor Michael Rapoport, and Yam Yam Arocho and Natalie Anderson of Survivor. Some examples of California Chardonnay come on strong, but great ones, like Jordan Winery’s Russian River Valley Chardonnay show depth, brightness, and a creamy texture.

Playing Defense: Cool-Climate Syrah

Kristen Kish (Top Chef), Mark Ballas (Dancing with the Stars), and actor Stephen Colletti (One Tree Hill) play coolly, speaking only when it’s essential at roundtables. These players seem comfortable in the background, but, much like the peppery notes in cool-climate Syrah, they don’t shy from being assertive. A good example is Melville 2022 Estate Syrah, where floral and peppery flavors are coaxed by cooling fog and Pacific breezes in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara County.

Champagne for the Unflappable

Dorinda Medley (The Real Housewives of New York City), Caroline Stanbury (The Real Housewives of Dubai), and Monét X Change (RuPaul’s Drag Race) are acclimated to the fineries of polite society, and roll with deception and moments of humility with grace—can it be anything other than Champagne? Try Champagne Billecart-Salmon’s Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Brut Rosé, which shows restraint while imparting lively and summery strawberry notes.

Assertive and Unapologetic: Cabernet Sauvignon

Colton Underwood (The Bachelor) emerged as a something of an antagonist, positing theories without evidence and stirring controversy for fellow faithfuls. Such personalities create the tension that’s essential for reality television to thrive as a genre. In admiration, try a robust Cabernet Sauvignon, like this Washington-state example from Intrinsic.

Rosé All Day: The Chameleon

Donna Kelce, aka “Mama Kelce” was a “secret traitor,” and assumed a strategy of fangirling, pretending to be out of her depth among celebrities she admires, playing loose and light. Why not try Summer in a Bottle, a Prôvence-style rosé produced by Wölffer Estate Vineyards in Long Island, which has made summer a versatile year-long affair…

Pinot Noir for the Tenderhearted

Olympians Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir and Love Island’s Maura Higgins have held to love and loyalty, declaring their attachments and sticking to them. Lipinski and Weir announced their best-friendship, and Higgins is immovably behind Rausch—we’ll see how that works out this week. A sensitive grape like Pinot Noir is the fit, where earthy, mushroomy notes impart unexpected materiality against brighter red cherry and strawberry notes. You cannot go wrong with Louis Jadot’s BMV Bourgogne.

Your fate awaits!

Congratulations…

Congrats to Chef Daisy Durham of Houston, Texas for winning the first Wine Flights Trivia contest! The answers are as follows: Drew Bledsoe is the former New England Patriots quarterback-turned-vintner from Walla Walla. There are more than 75 grape varieties grown in Washington-state, the most planted being Cabernet Sauvignon. The outlier oyster was Beausoleil, which is from New Brunswick, and Antelope Valley of the California High Desert is the closest AVA to SoFi Stadium, and Super Bowl 2027—though Temecula Valley is almost the same distance! Thanks to all who entered!

An autumn lunch at Café Carmellini in Manhattan pairing eight Cabernet Francs from three New York wine regions returned me to a conversation I had with Jordan Small, second-generation vintner at Woodward Canyon Winery in Walla Walla, while visiting the Evergreen State last August. Woodward Canyon became the region’s second bonded winery in 1981. The topic was one that recurs within the wine industry: Must wine regions market identity through the vessel of signature grape varieties, as Napa has with Cabernet Sauvignon and Oregon with Pinot Noir, to achieve visibility?

The question contains a larger one. To ensure the industry’s health and longevity, wine regions must recruit and retain wine drinkers and instill within them the capacity for lifelong wine appreciation—what is the most efficient and effective way to do that? Attracting visitors beyond state lines is crucial, as is recruiting in-state consumers who will revisit the tasting room and share their state’s distinct micro-regions and wineries with a measure of pride.

Regional signatures drive tourism. Dialing into a varietal or style and tasting to understand its range and expression is fun, as is embarking on quests, crossing wine regions off the bucket list, and correlating places with specialties, as Maine is to lobster rolls, North Carolina to barbecue, the northern Rhône to Syrah, Rías Baixas to Albariño, and so on.

“We never latched onto a signature grape, and at this point it’s hard to do, even though we have amazing Merlot and love Merlot for Washington. We do many things well, and have a spectrum of styles and varietals and vineyard sites—how you market that as cool and fun is a question we are really digging into right now,” says Small. Telling the state’s story on a broader scale, such that beverage directors and proprietors feel a void without a Washington wine section, and a selection of Walla Walla wines, for example, is a next step.

“To me, success looks like us not having to tell that story at all. With Napa, you know it already. In twenty years, if we don’t have to do a deep explanation of Washington and Walla Walla, that’s success,” says Small.

Why Cabernet Franc is New York’s Gateway Grape

New York vintners from the Finger Lakes, Hudson River Region, and Long Island are centering Cabernet Franc as a flagship red varietal to tell the state’s wine story.

The campaign, Cab Franc Forward, is led by Gabriella Macari, director of operations of Macari Vineyards on Long Island’s North Fork, and Max Rohn, the CEO of Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, New York. It’s proving effective for a reason that Small touched upon—it tells the truest story possible. Rather than fashioning or forcing a message, Cabernet Franc authentically distinguishes the state’s terroirs while evincing the crucial benchmarks of world class red wine, structure and ageability.

Keith Beavers, the tastings director at VinePair, describes Cabernet Franc as “an orphan and a traveling variety,” thought to originate in the Basque Country before making its way to Brittany, the Loire, Bordeaux, and beyond.

“It will always reflect its terroir,” he explains, noting that Cabernet Franc vineyards across from one another will achieve different expressions.

The question is, says Macari, “New Yorkers are proud people—proud of New York City, their sports teams, pizza, soft pretzels—can they feel pride around this grape?”

Josh Nadel, Master Sommelier and beverage director for NoHo Hospitality Group (including Café Carmellini), describes the need to consciously change the conversation about “emerging” wine regions, as they “belong in the global conversation without training wheels or helpers.” He compares Cabernet Franc now to where Albariño and Grüner Veltliner were decades ago—both have since have surged in popularity and visibility.

“New York’s vintners offer fifty years of experience doing the same thing in the same place, and that history inspires and excites consumers,” he explains.

On the Palate: A Study in Contrast

In different degrees, New York State Cabernet Francs balance red and dark fruit and savory, herbal notes, while showing nuance with tannins and oak influence.

Kevin Zraly, a preeminent wine writer, educator and the originator of the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, led a recent Cab Franc Forward tasting in Manhattan along with Beavers, Nadel, and Kimberly Livingston Prokoshyn, an accomplished sommelier and wine buyer for Dunn & Sons on Cape Cod. Zraly offered the textbook comparison of skim milk, whole milk, and heavy cream to capture how each wine’s “delicacy and finesse” ultimately clarifies when its tasted alongside food and through the lenses of light, medium, or full-bodied.

Roman Roth, the winemaker at Wölffer Estate Vineyards, perceives New York wines as of the “most food friendly,” as cooler climates support acid-retention during the growing season. In Long Island examples, Cabernet Franc’s savory, herbal notes complement cherries and and dark fruit characters. Beavers describes Caya, a Wölffer Cabernet Franc with a small measure of old vine Merlot, as a “food wine through and through,” with acidity and balance forefront. On the North Fork, Cabernet Franc expressions impart a signature trace of salinity that coheres Long Island wines. Macari’s Horses pet-nat Cabernet Franc comprises a vital high-acid wine with refreshing raspberry and strawberry notes; Paumanok Vineyards’ 2024 “Minimalist” Cabernet Franc and Lieb Vineyards 2023 estate Cabernet Franc are fruit baskets of juicy black cherry and raspberry.

By contrast, Finger Lakes expressions reflect, as Prokoshyn describes, elegant wines “with the tension of tannins.” She notes that Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard’s 2023 Magdalena Vineyard Cabernet Franc, grown on a warmer site ten miles north of the winery, is about “darker fruit, structural tension, with lots to unravel.” Wiemer planted vines in the 1970s, and Magdalena Vineyard Cabernet Franc proved “eye-openingly delicious” over time, explains Fred Merwarth, head winemaker and co-owner. Cabernet Franc from Boundary Breaks and the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery impart summery dark fruit, a bounty of cherry and blackberry, with palate innervating acidity.

In the Hudson River Region, growing sites benefit from maritime air, and wines elegantly assert savory characters. Fjord Vineyards 2024 estate Cabernet Franc is juicy and fresh, and green pepper notes are integrated. Benmarl Winery’s (the oldest vineyard in America, and owned by Fjord vintners Matthew Spaccarelli and Casey Erdmann) 2022 estate Cabernet Franc converges dark fruit, freshness, and spice.

Prokoshyn says these many junctures “make Cabernet Franc an exciting variety, as it can be lighter, fresher, and juicier” while evoking darker fruit notes and tension. “We are creating this identity in this moment—it is happening,” says Prokoshyn.

Read on…

Most recently, Emily Cappiello writes for Forbes, “While some worry that naming signature grapes could pigeonhole a region, leaders on both coasts argue the opposite. Signature varietals are meant to attract attention, not restrict creativity.” On the other hand, in this 2020 story for VinePair, Tim McKirdy argues, “While signature varieties offer an avenue to quick-fire recognition, they can harm a region’s prospects in the long run—especially if value and affordability are woven into their identities.” What are your thoughts?

The writing life is to always be in pursuit, with story placements, large and small, cohering as a career. As creatives in any subject area can attest though, corporatization, the economics of survival (for publications and writers alike), and the strongholds of AI and social media inform possibilities and morale. Sustaining autonomous, creative career pathways relies on us knowing our core beliefs: What issues drives us? What discoveries offer genuine fulfillment? Aside from the practical demands of earning a living, what missions, beliefs, and ideals offer sustenance? We cannot determine what our industries—food, wine, travel, or all of the above—most need from us at this moment if survival is our only values system.

“If we aren’t challenging our industry and each other, we simply cannot grow as individuals or a culture,” explains Devin Parr, the editor-in-chief of The Vintner Project, the co-founder of Grapeloop (an online community of wine industry professionals) and an accomplished public relations and marketing professional. Among other issues, Parr is vocal about the wine industry’s struggle to innovate (especially when compared with other beverage categories and industries) and the defense of moderate wine consumption. She also challenges the assumption that wine education is a requirement for enjoyment, a viewpoint which led to her position as co-chair of the program development committee of the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium.

Many thanks to Parr as well Emily Cappiello, Kara Daly, Samantha Leal, Nicole Letts, Wanda Mann, Nicole Muscari, Robin Shreeves, and Kathleen Willcox, writers and content creators you’ll get to know further in this story, for joining me in exploring the values fueling their work for the long term.

Storytelling and Responsibility are Intertwined

Sharing the stories of others—their life’s work, family histories, dreams, and ambitions—means embracing “respect and responsibility,” says Nicole Muscari, a wine expert and educator and the creator of Grape Chic. She explains, “I visit wine regions and spend time with the people who make the wine. I’m welcomed into their homes, where we sit at kitchen tables, share meals, and listen to stories from families who’ve cared for the same land for generations. Seeing their lives up close reminds me that these wines are more than products, they are legacies.”

Emily Cappiello, a freelance wine and travel writer and the president of Emily Jane Communications, concurs, saying, “At its best, storytelling gives voice to individuals who might otherwise go unheard, with depth, nuance, and care.”

For Parr, this brings with it the opportunity to translate “the world of wine and spirits, which can seem intimidating at best and downright exclusionary at worst, into something joyful, inclusive, and rooted in important work.”

Samantha Leal, a versatile and widely-published writer and editor, adds, “When I can uplift a voice, a person, a business, or a perspective—by showing its beauty, offering clarity, or helping someone feel less alone—that’s when the work feels most meaningful.”

Curiosity is Renewable

For Kathleen Willcox, a prolific wine writer and the creator of Good + Tasty. examining the endless tiny iterations in wine—“more than 10,000 varieties of grapes, thousands of regions each with their own distinct stamp of terroir, more than 8,000 years of history, and every single wine-grower and maker approaches farming and production in their own way”—yields insight about “our current culture, their personal history, the environment, market conditions, their paradigm, the rules and regulations (or lack thereof) embedded in their region.” In its connections to history, geology, art, and social and economic conditions, wine is a nesting doll of discoveries, where excitement and possibility are self-sustaining and readily replenished.

Robin Shreeves is the editor of Drink Local and a freelance wine writer with a special focus on East Coast wine. Love of the industry and conversation—during winery visits, in one-on-ones with winemakers and vineyard managers, and at industry events “where I raise glasses with like-minded professionals, some of whom have become true friends,” sustains her passion and love of learning.

“Curiosity is renewable,” says Cappiello. “There’s always another angle, another human story, another overlooked detail bringing texture to a familiar topic.”

Nurturing readers’ curiosity such that they further connect “to a place, a person, a moment, or a community,” means, says Parr, “The work matters, regardless of what it pays.”

Reliability is an End Game

Shreeves hopes readers perceive her as “a trusted voice, especially in the East Coast wine industry.” For Muscari, “Being a reliable voice is important to me, especially in an industry that sometimes feels intimidating or exclusive. I want wine to feel human, cultural, and approachable, while still respecting its depth and history.”

Nicole Letts is an Atlanta-based journalist writing about travel, food and spirits, design, and living history of the modern American South. She also owns Grandmillenial Shop, named to Country Living’s top 100 places to shop for vintage and antiques online. Letts describes a mid-career shift in focus to nurturing and sustaining professional relationships, in turn cultivating endurance and longevity in a precarious field. “I don’t need to be the best or the fastest; I need to be reliable. At one point, I would have never dreamed I would be writing for Southern Living. I am driven to maintain my relationships with editors and publications, and hopefully improve them as I go. I am thankful daily for where I am.”

Writing is Sustenance

Wanda Mann is the East Coast Editor of The SOMM Journal and Tasting Panel, a sought-after speaker, and the creator of Wine With Wanda. She describes writing as “an integral part of who I am; I love putting words on paper and weaving a world and a mood. Once wine entered my life, I discovered that in addition to being absolutely delicious, it offered endless possibilities for storytelling.” Mann recognizes “the importance of nurturing my creativity” and invests in “creating my own content so that my writing is not merely transactional. I make time to write for myself, even if I never post it.”

Kara Daly, a North Carolina based wine writer and the editor of Wine is Confusing, enjoys liberation in recognizing that writing and livelihood don’t need to be reciprocal.

“I’m constantly negotiating the hustle of a writing career with the fact that it’s a lifelong creative practice that sustains me as a human that exists outside of any industry,” explains Daly. Accepting that “a comfortable living won’t follow writing about wine” has inspired Daly to work in the world of wine in other ways” and to exist in the world “away from my desk,” which leads her back to writing. “The ongoing practice of being a writer doesn’t fit squarely into the formula of the professional world. I accept my fate, and adjust accordingly.”

Says Leal, “Words are one of the greatest forms of magic we have in this reality. What keeps me going as a writer is the need to write, period.”

Read on…

In Forbes, check out Emily Cappiello’s “Puglia’s Forgotten Grape Is Having A Quiet Comeback“ and Devin Parr’s “10 Wines that Changed the World.” Kara Daly’s latest for Wine is Confusing examines the promise of the hybrid grape Aravelle for the southeast. For VinePair, Samantha Leal recently wrote “No, Vodka is not a Neutral Spirit,” and for Southern Living, Nicole Letts shares essential advice in “Should You Store Wine Glasses Up or Upside Down?“ Subscribe to Wine With Wanda for articles like “So You Want to Learn More About Wine” and book tastings and explore brand partnerships with Nicole Muscari here. Subscribe to Drink Local for a weekly dram of East Coast Wine News from Robin Shreeves, and to Good + Tasty for insightful industry deep dives like “Slumping Wine Sales? Not for Brands Selling Ideas Over Facts“ by Kathleen Willcox. My story on the efficacy of crop thinning is included within SevenFifty Daily’s Most Popular Articles of 2025, and I’m excited to share new work in Imbibe magazine’s January/February print issue.

We start with a savory, herbaceous Lambrusco spritz recipe, courtesy of Don Antonio, an enclave for authentic Neapolitan pizza in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. A short feature about Texas’ sparkling wine revolution follows, as does a glimpse of the fortieth anniversary celebration of traditional method sparkling wine production in New York’s scenic Finger Lakes region, at the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery. We wrap up with tasting notes for Champagne Billecart-Salmon’s Le Sous Bois (fermented in oak casks), a study in contrast of prosecco, and a bit about why pairing butter cookies with Korbel is most recommended.

Shortly after publishing the first edition of Wine Flights, my friend and colleague Leigh Stein, whose Substack Attention Economy is an invaluable resource for authors and content creators, let me know, “I’m using your recommendations to order my dad some Texas wine for Christmas.” This delighted me so! I’ve relinked above in case you wish to peruse the list again.

As we countdown to the new year, may playwright Noël Coward’s guileless query, “Why do I drink Champagne for breakfast? Doesn’t everyone?” set a tone of wellbeing and joyful connection during the holiday season!

Meet the Spritzza…

You’ll surely require a pizza night before New Year’s Eve, and Lambrusco, a lightly sparkling (frizzante) red wine with ancient origins grown in northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region offers a refreshing counterpoint of acidity against a fruity core of blackberry and cherry. Roberto Caporuscio opened Don Antonio on West 50th Street in 2012; his mentor, Antonio Starita, is the third-generation owner and pizzaiolo of Starita in Naples, established in 1901. Don Antonio quickly gathered accolades from New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, and recently, upon Roberto’s daughter Giorgia assuming ownership and the role of head pizzaiola, the 2024 Michelin guide.

Your ingredients for the Spritzza: oregano-infused simple syrup, fresh lemon, Italian red bitters, Lambrusco, and green olives.

Texas’ Sparkling Wine Revolution

Rather than shrink from the obstacles facing the wine industry, three Texas wine producers are growing the sparkling wine category in Texas without compromise. As Elisa Jones, co-owner and winemaker at Elisa Christopher Wines, puts it, “Texas has a long history of making excellent wine—this is just our next chapter.” Jones and her husband Christopher engage a plurality of grapes, like Trebbiano, Sangiovese, Grenache, Chardonnay, Blanc du Bois, Picpoul Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Mourvèdre.

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For Chris Brundrett, owner of William Chris Vineyards, producing traditional method wines (with a second fermentation in the bottle and extended aging time “on the lees,” or spent yeast cells) is a way to tell the stories of Texas’ historic and mature vineyards, like Boxing Rabbit, dating from 1975 in the Texas High Plains, the Uplift Vineyard, dating from 1994 in the Texas Hill Country, and Dell Valley Vineyard in the Chihuahuan Desert in Far West Texas, also planted in the 1970s.

There are other benefits as well. Harvesting grapes earlier in the season for sparkling wine avoids Texas’ intense heat, and accumulate less sugar; grapes thus retain acidity that, says Jones, pairs beautifully with Texas fare like barbecue and Mexican food. Brundrett also notes that every opportunity for grape growers to diversify their offerings is positive. William Chris Vineyards’ sold out of its first traditional method release, with sparkling Mourvèdre, and Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc cuvées (blends) made by winemaker Seth Urbanek. Brundrett’s team is restoring a historic post office and feed store in the Texas Hill Country to be a sparkling wine tasting room called Rebecca Caroline.

Brian Heath, owner of Heath Family Brands’, appreciates sparkling wine’s universal appeal with consumers. “It’s more than a celebratory accoutrement. Many choose it for day-to-day wine enjoyment,” he observes. Heath’s seminal 2024 vintage will be released in early 2026, after 18 months sur lie (again, aged on the lees). Visitors can tour Heath’s sparkling production at Invention Vineyards in Fredericksburg while tasting sparkling wines and Invention’s powerful Right and Left Bank blends and single-varietal wines. Jones’ makes sparkling wine for several local clients, as will Brundrett. So we can expect, as Jones says, “a lot more sparkling wine in Texas.”

An Anniversary Postcard from New York’s Finger Lakes Region

At the fortieth anniversary celebration of the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery’s sparkling wine production last August, Meaghan Frank, the winery’s Vice President, invited guests to recall and share a year they associate with a pivotal memory. She connected the exercise with the concept of vintage, and the way we carry our stories forward in time. A retrograde tasting of vintages, from 2021 back to the earliest years, called attention to the prolific, elegant collaboration between sparkling winemakers Eric Bauman and Barbara Frank—sparkling vintages across the years exhibit precision, freshness, and restraint. I’ll be sharing more writing about this visit in 2026!

For the Holiday Table: Le Sous Bois

“Le Sous Bois” means “undergrowth,” and refers to the earthy “forest floor” wine tasting note. Champagne Billecart-Salmon’s Le Sous Bois departs from the house’s signature low-temperature fermentation in steel tanks, opting for a Champagne that’s vinified, again at a low temperature, entirely in oak casks. The result is a deeper gold hue and profound textural depth, with notes of citrus peel, aged honey, and brioche. The 2017 vintage is comprised of 43% Grand Cru Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs, 28% Premier and Grand Cru Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, and 29% Meunier from the right and left bank of the Vallée de la Marne. To try this one via wine.com, visit this link.

Prosecco: A Study in Contrast

Prosecco has subtleties in texture (i.e., mouthfeel, or presence on the palate) body, acidity, and flavor that are informed by its grape growing regions in northeast Italy. The Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG is the source of Proseccco Superiore. DOCG, or Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, is a quality standard that’s connected to place. Steeper subregions within, Rive and Cartizze DOCGs, produce dry, elegant proseccos expressing just ripe pear and enlivening minerality. On lower, flatter, and warmer terrain in the Prosecco DOC, a stretch of nine provinces within Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, fruit will have a riper expression.

Along with quality classifications, note terms like “sui lieviti,” again, aged on the lees (I promise, there’s no quiz at the end of this edition!), and Brut or Brut Nature. The latter means there’s no (or virtually no) dosage, i.e., sugar that’s added to balance a wine after the yeast is disgorged. Above, Adami’s Col Fondo represents a style where the yeast is not disgorged; the appearance is cloudy, and bready notes support savoriness and depth. Its counterpart on the right above, grown in the Treviso DOC, subtly asserts notes of Gala apple and juicy cantaloupe. Both have a creamy mousse, a light, insistent sparkle.

Butter Cookies and Korbel

It’s a touch of class to bring a celebratory bottle to your holiday cookie swap, and Korbel’s brut and brut natural sparklings elevate the biscuity notes implicit within holiday butter cookies—a most agreeable match! These are budget friendly and easy to find, for example, here.

Earlier this year, I decided I’d be gifting wine club memberships for the holidays. Wine creates essential opportunities to connect and its cultural heritage spans civilizations. I’m keen to spend in support of the industries and values I believe in (so, books, print magazines, and wine). I hope, in turn, the below selection of innovative wine clubs might offer genuine inspiration for meaningful gift giving! Many have advantageous financial models, and several reflect my interest in supporting woman-led creative enterprises. Washington, California, and Texas wine are well-represented. There is no affiliated revenue; these are earnest recommendations, and I look forward to sharing more postcards, dispatches, and features here in the months to come!

I wish you many warm moments around the table as the new year approaches!

AniChe Cellars

Anäis Mera and Rachael Horn are a powerhouse mother-daughter team farming and fermenting at AniChe Cellars on Underwood Mountain, a wilderness idyll among evergreens with a birdseye view of the Columbia River. Like many Columbia Gorge winemakers, AniChe’s wines reflect micro-terroirs and layers of volcanic soil along the river; dry-farming results in satisfyingly high-acid Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and Pinot Noir, while warmer micro-climates support Tempranillo and Mencia.

• The nitty-gritty: Hecate’s Key members receive two biannual shipments of twelve estate, sparkling, and library wines for a $400 flat rate. The Family Wine Club ranges from $100-350 per shipment, pending the number of bottles, and the Creative membership, $35 monthly, is well-suited for those in the Pacific Northwest.

Benevolent Neglect

Winemaker Matt Nagy and his business partner Ben Brenner were mentored by winemakers who Jon Bonné describes in the 2012 book The New California Wine as “true believers in terroir.” Nagy got his start as an intern with Thomas Rivers Brown, while Brenner has worked alongside Steve Mathiasson, who, writes Bonné, “forsook Cabernet and Merlot for Refosco and Schioppettino.” Benevolent Neglect is a euphemism for minimal intervention winemaking, and Counoise and Ribolla Gialla are flagship wines, among others from California’s North and Central Coasts, the Napa Valley, and Sonoma. Benevolent Neglect’s tasting room in downtown Napa has a hip, chill living room vibe—I mean, it’s BYOV, i.e., Bring Your Own Vinyl.

• The nitty-gritty: The biannual six-bottle club includes a 15% discount, and the twelve-bottle membership a 20% discount. Case shipments benefit from a $25 flat rate on shipping.

Birdhorse

This California winemaking project, originated by Corinne Rich and Katie Rouse, centers “regions, varietals, and humans that have long had a presence in this industry but have yet to be celebrated.” Minimal intervention is the protocol, such that grapes like Verdelho, Arneis, Barbera, and Valdigué gently come into their authentic selves.

• The nitty-gritty: For case shipments, shipping is $30 on the West Coast and $40 elsewhere. For four and six bottle memberships, shipping is $20 on the West Coast and $30 beyond.

Co Dinn Cellars

Coman Dinn’s iPad is like a third hand, a reflexive point of reference he uses to convey centuries of geologic change, and the subsequent minerality conveyed by soils, in select Yakima Valley vineyards. Specialities are Chardonnay and Syrah, the former edgy and alive with acidity and a supple texture from lees aging, the latter savory, with notes of blackberry, herbs, and cherries. Bordeaux blends and GSM’s are also part of the rotation.

• The nitty-gritty: The Silver Club includes a twice annual six-bottle shipment or pick-up, and the Gold Club twelve bottles.

Côte Bonneville

Winemaker Kerry Shiels’ parents’ planted the DuBrul Vineyard in Sunnyside, Washington, also in the Yakima Valley, 1992; 45 sustainably-farmed acres yield exceptional and enveloping Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, among other varieties.

• The nitty-gritty: Starting with three winemaker-selected bottles three times per year, club models scale up to shipments of premium library wines. Review on the club page.

Duchman Family Winery

Duchman’s tasting room in Driftwood, Texas is a stone villa accented with cypress trees, summoning daydreams of Tuscany. Suitably, winemaker Dave Reilly makes oenological magic with Italian varieties like Montepulciano, Aglianico, Sangioevese, and fans pine for his Vermentino months before release.

The nitty-gritty: Shipping is $20 within Texas, and $30 out of state. Opt for a three, six, or twelve bottle membership.

The Happy Vine

Kathleen Smith (DipWSET) is known around the world as “The Happy Vine.” She’s a force—a dynamic wine educator and storyteller. Each wine is accompanied by a QR code linking to an informative video with tasting notes, fun facts, and context about the wine’s growing region. The leaf lid inside the box includes the same in print form. The club is fun and playful, reflective of Smith’s warm personality. See more here.

The Hilt Estate

In Santa Barbara County’s Sta. Rita Hills AVA, moody fog and cool Pacific breezes pulse between the Purisima and Santa Rosa Hills, and three windswept vineyards form the base of The Hilt’s Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. The former is bracing and innervating (in a most ideal way), replete with minerality, spark, leanness, and refinement, while the latter balances an interknit core of cherry and strawberry with a bright counterpoint of acidity. Soil composites include diatomaceous earth (fossilized plankton), amplifying minerality.

• The nitty gritty: Biannual four and eight bottle memberships benefit from $10 shipping, while biannual case shipments ensure $1 shipping.

Kalasi Cellars

Nikhila Narra Davis and her husband Greg Davis build bold red wines in Texas. The Raj and Heritage Collections include luscious Bordeaux-varietal blends, while the latter includes fan favorites like citrusy Malvasia Bianca and savory single-varietal Cabernet Franc, among others. The Reincarnated line attests to the success of herbaceous Italian varietals like Sangiovese, Sagrantino, and Teroldego in Texas High Plains soils.

• The nitty gritty: There are four allotments per year, in packages of three, six, or twelve bottles; all receive a 15% wine club discount.

Kings Carey

Winemaker James Sparks exalts Santa Barbara County’s seven AVA’s in single vineyard wines that show the region’s nuance beyond crunchy Pinot Noirs and saline, precise Chardonnays. Wines include a lees-rested, (neutral) barrel-aged Semillon from Happy Canyon and a Los Olivos Cabernet Sauvignon, organically farmed and aged for 17 months in neutral oak puncheons, among others. Hawk Krall’s signature labels, pictured above, evoke nightlife, chance encounters, color, vivacity, and boardwalk nostalgia.

• The nitty-gritty: Club releases include two bottlings and a gift highlighting a community maker. Shipping costs are waived on standard ground club shipments—you read that right!

Kiona Vineyards and Winery

The Williams’ family story is also the origin story of Washington’s Red Mountain AVA. In 1965, John Williams and Jim Holmes, friends while working at General Electric, consulted horticulturalist Walter Clore, the father of Washington wine. Williams and Holmes planted the first grapes on Red Mountain in 1975, Cabernet, Riesling, and Chardonnay, and the following year, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, and Lemberger (aka Blaufränkisch), the latter a just-tart compote of cool raspberry and blackberry. Grandsons JJ and Tyler Williams now uphold the defining threshold of quality that characterizes Kiona’s and Red Mountain’s powerful red wines.

• The nitty-gritty: Regardless of membership tier, every box ships for $10. Eleven bottles or less receive a 15% discount, while orders of 12 or more a 30% discount.

  

LUSHINGToN Wines

After four years at Sinor~LaVallee winery along California’s Central Coast, winemaker and grape grower Teddi Fuller traveled to Central Otago and Tasmania to further learn her craft. She’s the assistant winemaker at Domaine Pouillon in the Columbia Gorge and leases Hi Hill Vineyard, planted to Riesling and Pinot Noir in 1978 and Pinot Meunier in 2023. At 1,888 feet of elevation, the site produces bright high-acid sparkling wines and earthy, sprightly Pinot Noir. LUSHINGToN is an amalgam of ‘lush’ and Washington, and references an early Phish song, as well.

• The nitty-gritty: For four bottles, receive 10% off and $25 shipping. For six, 15% off and $20 shipping, and 12 bottles unlocks 20% off and $10 shipping.

Wine for the People

Rae Wilson originated Wine for the People while consulting as a sommelier for Austin restaurants in the early aughts, intent on the countering the perception that there are “secret languages people need to know to really enjoy wine.” She carefully selects vineyard sites in the Texas High Plains and Texas Hill Country to be a quality ballast in Wine for the People bottlings and her smaller-production La Valentía wines. Some favorites include a still rosé of Cinsault, a Chenin Blanc-Sauvignon Blanc blend, and a red blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Graciano.

• The nitty-gritty: A unique subscription model ensures high-caliber wine is always on hand. A monthly subscription ensures 15% savings, every two months a 10% discount, and every three months conveys a 5% discount.

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